Welcome! This blog is intended to record all my craft projects - scrapbooking, cardmaking, sewing, knitting, gardening - and anything else that catches my interest. I hope you enjoy reading my posts and feel free to leave me a comment - they are always much appreciated!

Sunday, 30 September 2018

I trust you are all enjoying your Sunday. I've been busy in the craft room because it's mean outside, icy cold and squally rain showers. Despite the showers the sun is shining ... truly autumn weather. Happily, it's given me good reason to stay indoors and do something with the scraps leftover from yesterday's card.

Even though I was fairly sure I knew what a fox looked like, I struggled with colouring the image, so much so I ended up Googling for photos. Guess what, they are all different, just like us! Result, this is the best I could come up with.

This is a pic of the scraps and stamp set I used. I'd rejected the trees for yesterday's car - wrong shade of green, Ink It Up's Kelly Green ink pad, but decided I'd use a couple today.

I'm submitting the card to Di's challenge over at Pixie's Snippet Playground where the newest, most adorable, addition to the Playground staff can be found. Sorry Parsnip, you remain the most adorable Playground bear!

Saturday, 29 September 2018

At last, a card! I can't remember the last time I made a card but as the temperature falls I am reminded that Christmas isn't so far away and it's time to get cracking on cards for the occasion.

This card is made entirely from scraps and snippets saved from bigger projects. The spattered background piece is the result of having too much ink leftover when making a Summer Challenge scrap page ... it would have been criminal not to use it up so I flicked it on to some white card and stashed it away in my odds and ends box.

Wednesday, 26 September 2018

It's been a while. I did try to write a WOYWW post the Wednesday I was in Wales but found it impossible to insert photos from my phone. There was broadband available in the cottage but only when the wind was in the right direction and stars in alignment!!! And then I got sick. It meant we had to cut our holiday short. Such a shame because we loved the hills, the fields and the hundreds of sheep, that surrounded us and there's so much to see and do around Llandudno too. Happily, I'm recovering and have started getting out and about once more. Feeling more like flexing my crafting muscles again too. Not that there's much sign of that on my desk, as you can see.

There's a pack of fine tip glue applicators and two new dies ordered from Amazon and only just arrived before we left for Wales. They are on my 'must try' list. Everything else at the back you've seen before - not much change there. The box at the front contains the pages made in the cottage - seven in total. Not bad considering the many distractions there were on holiday, including the sheep.

I can't claim that they were made at the WOYWW crop ... it's well documented that very little crafting is actually done on the day! No, most were made in the evenings on this tiny round table in the cottage. It's surprising what can be done with limited supplies and lots of determination. However, I did make a start on this page at the crop - it wasn't finished until the following day. .

The photo is of my father and his siblings taken at a wedding in the 1980s - the last time they all got together. Almost all are gone now - just one uncle, the one in the dark grey suit, survives. The photo brings back some lovely memories of the family and they look so smart in their wedding outfits too.

So it's obvious that there's not been much action in the craft room but I have managed to do some knitting.

I did start this little hat and cowl set while on holiday but only got around to finishing it yesterday. I was lucky to find the button in my stash. I think it will fit my youngest great-granddaughter perfectly.

On a role, I've started another hat. This mohair type yarn was a gift from a friend and it's lovely to work with - love the colours. Tempted to keep this one for myself!

And isn't this the most wonderful collection of knitting needles - some very old indeed. They were offered up free on a local Facebook site and because I have so very few sets of needles I snapped them up. I gave my daughter a very similar collection many years ago because I had lost interest in knitting and thinking I'd never use them again. How wrong could I be! My interest has been revived by the ladies at the Thursday craft group, many of whom are very experienced knitters.

And talking of knitting, needles and wool, look what came back with me from Wales. Well, it would have been rude to leave them there. These two kits are from a lovely little yarn shop, Find me Knitting, Betws-y-coed, that specialises in natural yarns like these. The pack contains Ada 100% Peruvian Highland Wool - how exotic is that - and the crocheted cowl pattern was designed by the yarn shop owner, Valerie, especially for this wool. The other kit of 4ply fingering, pattern and needles, is for socks ... yes, I'm going to attempt to knit my first pair of socks!!! Those needles are tiny - not sure I've not bitten of more than I can chew here!

And finally, because I know some of you like to read about them, two books I've been listening to recently:

'A Stash of One's Own' compiled by Clara Parkes. As crafters we know what stash is, it's our collection of paper, tools, embellishments etc. We take it for granted that every new purchase adds to our stash but I'd never associated the concept with knitting. After all you buy the yarn and knit up the intended item before buying more yarn for the next project Yes. No! Not so, as is evident from the the kits I bought back from Wales. I now have a small wool stash. And it's clear from the contributors to this book that I'm not alone. Shocking, enlightening and very entertaining.

'Walking with Peety' by Eric O'Grey. I loved this book. The subtitle 'the dog who saved my life' isn't an exaggeration. I quote, 'Eric was 150 pounds overweight, depressed, and sick. After a lifetime of failed diet attempts and the onset of type 2 diabetes due to his weight, Eric went to a new doctor, who surprisingly prescribed a shelter dog. And that's when Eric met Peety: an overweight, middle-aged, and forgotten dog who, like Eric, had seen better days. The two adopted each other and began an incredible journey'. This is a book that confirms the truism - a dog is man's best friend.

Well, I've gone on a bit today but I hope you and Julia, The Stamping Ground, will forgive me as it's been a while and I had so much to share with you all. Next week should be a lot shorter.

Tuesday, 25 September 2018

I thought that as I've been missing for quite a while I'd share a few more of the pages made for the summer challenge over at Mind The Scrap's Facebook Group.

Brodie Waiting for his Operation

A few years ago my little great-grandson, Brodie, swallowed a tiny battery that came loose from a toy car he was playing with. Fortunately, his dad realised what had happened and rushed him to hospital where he had to have an operation to remove the battery before it did too much damage. This photo sums up how tense the episode was for all the family. The design is made almost entirely with paper scraps and the unicorn was die cut from a scrap too.

You've got a Friend

This photo of two of my grandchildren sums up their relationship. There's only a year between them so they've not just been close in age but inseparable too. Even now as adults they are still very much friends. Again most of the design was created from scraps with the addition of lace, ribbon and twine for a change of texture.

The Star Attraction

This giant inflatable pig was the star attraction, especially with children, at an apple farm we visited when we were on holiday in 1999. The farm produce, apple juice, cider, chutneys and jam, was delicious. The base of the page is a daisy embossed sheet of card I have been saving for several years.

ECO Warriors

Ireland 1999 again. The photo was taken at Kilkenny Castle. I don't remember much about these figures but they were made of recycled objects and looked like an army of Eco warriors to me. The spattered background was created with Brusho powders.

There's more, many more, pages still to share but I think this is enough for one day. I have made rather a lot this summer so my plan is to post a few at a time until I'm all caught up.

Monday, 24 September 2018

It's been a while. A combination of holidays, in Wales, and illness have stopped me blogging but I'm recovering nicely now and happy to get back to normal. It's even longer since I shared the flowers from my garden for Cathy's In A Vase On Monday. Turns out I'm allergic, very allergic, to certain bug bites and there's been an awful lot of them biting me this very hot summer. I never thought I'd say this but I'm so glad summer is over this year. Anyway, here's my vase today.

The jug is a new one, a souvenir from Wales, and it called out for blue flowers but there's not many in bloom in the garden at this time ... except, that is, centaura montana which is enjoying a second mini flush after being chopped back a few weeks ago.

The dwarf aster nova-anglaie is more purple than blue, but there's plenty of it and it's tiny blooms are so cheerful I couldn't resist them.

We still have quite a few roses in flower including this cream coloured one, Elina. It's a shrub rose so I was able to cut a small spray which includes a couple of buds - hopefully they will open out to fill out the arrangement in the next few days.

Lastly, I couldn't resist cutting a few cosmos, Candy Stripe. The only flowers I successfully grew from seed this year and they have been a delight.

This sheep is another souvenir from Wales and a very appropriate one too. The cottage we stayed in was surrounded by fields of sheep - it was a truly idyllic location.

If you have enjoyed this post, and would like to see what others have in their vases today, do please pop over to Cathy's where there's plenty links to many more beautiful arrangements.

Wednesday, 5 September 2018

Almost forgot that this was Wednesday - it's been such a busy week already - but I just had to join in with today's WOYWW. Especially this one because it's crop week, at last, and the EM and I will be on our way to Wales tomorrow in time for Saturday.

This is the mess that's my desk today. The Mind the Scrap challenge ended only yesterday so what you see is my last minute attempt to make order out of the mess and decide what scrapbooking supplies I want to pack too. At the same time I've got the photo printer working away so that I have a wee stock of photos to choose from for the page kits I'm taking with me. I don't just see myself scrapping at the crop - that is, when we are not chatting, of course! - but also in the cottage we've rented for the week.

Needless to say, I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again, and a few I've yet to meet, at the crop and hope they have a safe journey to Llandudno wherever they are traveling from.

It's brief this week - well I'm so late - but I'm sure that's a relief for our lovely Head Desker, Julia.